


Rose

by LionTurtleDanceRevolt



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005), Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: 10th Doctor - Freeform, Is there anything that's worth more..., Lion is there sort of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-12
Updated: 2017-06-12
Packaged: 2018-11-13 03:11:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,232
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11175777
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LionTurtleDanceRevolt/pseuds/LionTurtleDanceRevolt
Summary: A brief meeting in the desert.I just really feel like these two would be friends.





	Rose

**Author's Note:**

> This is just a quick interaction between two people who have a lot in common. 
> 
> Also, Donna is the BEST. No arguments.

The Doctor burst out of the front door of the TARDIS, a light trail of smoke following behind him.

“You pushed a button! What have I told you about pushing buttons?” he complained, squinting in the bright sun.

Donna stormed out after him. “I did NOT push a bloody BUTTON. YOU were eating a pudding by the console and you dropped it.” She squinted around as well. The sun felt too bright, too yellow, the sky was too blue. All she could see for miles was sand.

“And now you’ve trapped us on some awful desert planet!” Donna finished sharply. 

The Doctor leaned over and took up a pinch of sand, which he promptly put into his mouth. 

After a few moments of coughing and gagging he turned to Donna and said calmly, “We’re not on an awful desert planet. It’s Earth. I think. Probably.”

He turned to look back inside the TARDIS, which had stopped smoking but was making an unusual sort of sizzle noise. “And we are not trapped,” the Doctor concluded. “The old girl’s just getting her bearings. Should be fine in an hour or so.” Upon seeing Donna gearing up for a tirade, he admitted, “There may have been some pudding involved.”

Donna’s rant resolved itself into a sigh and she threw up her arms. “An hour, yeah? What are we supposed to do for an hour?” 

“Fancy building a sand castle?” the Doctor asked.

Donna groaned. “You’re lucky you bought me those gossip magazines on Ventillius 7,” she said, and stomped back into the TARDIS. After squinting around another moment, the Doctor made to follow her, only to stop short as the door closed in his face. 

Ah. Possibly the TARDIS was a little unhappy with him at the moment. Wasn’t the first time, and wouldn’t be the last. He grinned and gave it a fond pat. “Right,” he said to himself, “Might as well have a look around.” 

There were no discernible landmarks, so he picked a direction at random and started walking. Only a few minutes had passed before he shucked off his blazer and put it over his head to block out the unrelenting sun. Sand filled his socks and trainers, but it was too hot to go barefoot. It certainly wasn’t the most hostile environment he’d ever been in, but it wasn’t very pleasant either. And worse, it wasn’t interesting.

“Couldn’t have popped in somewhere a bit more lively?” he wondered. 

Not a second after this complaint, something came into view in the distance. It was blurry in the heat lines rising off the sand. 

As he got closer, he realized the something was a someone.

The Doctor had an inkling in the back of his mind as he pressed on, although it seemed too unlikely to be possible. And yet, sweating, a bit out of breath, and hearts racing, he finally got close enough to confirm his suspicion. 

“Hello, Rose,” he said.

She was kneeling in the sand, which put her at about the same height as him. Her giant, pink curls bounced delicately as she turned. 

Rose Quartz. The Crystal Gem. The war general gone renegade against her own people. In all of his centuries of travels, and despite the fact that both of them had a peculiar attachment to this planet, the Doctor had only run into her twice. He suspected that the fabric of Time and Space wasn’t thrilled with destinies as strange as theirs converging too often.

Tears sparkled in her eyes, and as he stepped closer he saw that she was kneeling over what looked like a very large, and very dead lion.

“Hello, Doctor,” she said quietly, in a voice that would break anyone’s hearts.

He pulled his jacket off his head and sat down in the sand next to her, giving the lion a forlorn look. “What happened?” he asked.

Rose sighed, a musical sound that sparkled like her tears. The Doctor found himself sighing too, because she just had that effect on people. Gems were such a peculiar species, and Rose Quartz was peculiar for a Gem. 

“He was just old,” she said, “So he died.” She turned to give the Doctor a watery smile. “All beings from this planet are so fragile, you know?” 

“I know,” the Doctor said. They sat for a while, silently contemplating the dead lion.

Finally the Doctor asked, “Where are your friends?” 

Rose shrugged. “There is a Temple not far from here. I… told them I was going on a mission. So many remnants remain from the war.”

“My offer still stands to help you with that,” the Doctor said. Rose smiled and touched his hand - hers enveloping his entirely. 

“Thank you,” she said. “But it’s my responsibility.” 

“I know what you’re going to do,” the Doctor said, nodding toward the lion, “But I hope you’ll go back to your friends soon. You need to be around someone you can talk to. It’s not good for people like us to be… alone, you know?” 

“People like us,” Rose Quartz repeated with a smile. “Do you have a friend with you now, Doctor?” 

He grinned, thinking of Donna, and jerked his head back the way he had come. “She keeps me in line, that’s for sure.” 

“Good,” Rose said, nodding approvingly. 

There didn’t seem to be much more to say, and the Doctor was reminded that the hour had nearly past and Donna would be grouchy if he made her wait. He stood up and dusted the sand off his trousers, which was something of a lost cause. 

“My other offer still stands, too…” he said. “I know you can’t go home. But anywhere you want to go—“

“I’m right where I need to be,” Rose replied calmly. “But thank you.” 

The Doctor nodded. He wordlessly reached out and grasped her hand one last time, then dropped his blazer back over his head and turned to go. As he walked away, tracing his own footprints in the sand back towards the TARDIS, he could hear her crying. 

The doors of the TARDIS opened for him once more, so he supposed he was forgiven for the pudding incident. Although he had to wonder if that had really caused any sort of technical issue at all, or if the TARDIS had engaged in its occasional pastime of putting the Doctor where he needed to be, when he needed to be there.

“There you are!!” Donna raged, literally yanking him inside the TARDIS by his neck tie. “Where on Earth have you been? The TARDIS has been ready to go for ages now. Or at any rate, it’s stopped making funny noises aside from the usual ones.” 

The Doctor grinned and without warning pulled Donna into a hug. Caught by surprise, she hugged him back, laughing as he picked her up a little despite his skinny frame. Then she shoved him off and said, “What’s all that? What’s gotten into you?” 

“Just glad you’re here,” the Doctor said, “No need to make a scene.” 

He whirled toward the (now somewhat sticky) console and began hitting buttons and levers. “Right! Anyway!” he chirped, “This little detour gave me a great idea for our next stop—“

“Don’t say it…” Donna groaned.

“An awful desert planet!” said the Doctor gleefully. “BUT, wait until you see the Infinity Pyramids. There’s a brilliant little gift shop.” 

END

**Author's Note:**

> No idea what really happened, but I feel so sad imagining Rose crying over Lion's death, and bringing him back just because she is lonely. =(


End file.
